Up in Flames
by mikiiip
Summary: In what started as a service trip, Spencer Carlin steps into South Carolina, right into an unexpected summer romance. In a star-crossed explosion, sparks fly, tears fall, life burns away and reignites.
1. Chapter 1

Hi guys! If you're reading this, maybe you've read some of my previous and unfinished Fic, Not Going Anywhere (for which the continuation is postponed indefinitely – pending motivation), or maybe you're just randomly happening by this one, but I've cooked up the start of another little Spashley story in my head, and it just had to get out on paper. I've posted the prologue-esque thing as well as the first chapter below. I don't really know how I feel about it, but if you wanted to take the time to read it, please let me know what you think. I will try to get you updates as often as I can, but my schedule is very busy with school and I can't promise that they'll be super often, only that my motivation to write right now is strong, so I'll do the best that I can. I am sincerely sorry for the fact that I've let my other story slip away from me, and I'll try my hardest to redeem myself a little with this one. Thank for taking the time to read this lengthy intro, and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Love always, M.

Prologue-Esque Thing.

I couldn't possibly have predicted the way that the person I met that day would alter my life, as if a lever was pulled, causing the train to shift tracks and head in another direction to a new destination. If I had known it was the end of the old Spencer, I might have done something differently. I might have treasured the things that I cared most about, the people I cared most about before everything changed, if I had I known that my world would soon be eclipsed. I didn't expect it at all; much less that she would enter my life as my brother's girlfriend.

The fact is, no, I didn't anticipate it, but it happened. _She_ happened. And frankly, I'm not sure I could have stopped myself from falling in love with her if I had tried. In spite of all the grief, the searing heartache, and the hollow feeling of loss that I've been through, felt in my chest, I am glad to have let her into my life, and into my heart. If you asked me why this is, I wouldn't be able to tell you, because logically it just doesn't make sense. Survival instincts tell us to avoid what can hurt us, but I was drawn to her much like a moth to a flame. In that moment before I was engulfed in her blaze, I was blissfully warm. There was no logic, and there is still no logic. If I could be that warm again, I might risk the burn.

Chapter 1

"Are you sure you don't want me to come to the airport with you?"

"Mom, I'm seriously fine." I said for the fifth time.

"It's really not a problem, I can push back my appointment…"

"How many times has Glen done this by himself?"

"You're my little girl, Spencer. And you're going off to somewhere you've never been before for the whole summer. It's a big deal." She insisted, putting her hands on my shoulders.

"Yes, mom, I know. But it's South Carolina… and a service trip. I'm pretty sure that your Jesus people aren't going to kill me," to which she scoffed, "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. And I'm telling you I'm going to be fine. Glen's already there, he'll meet me at the airport and bring me to the house" my mother held her breath, "it's all going to be fine, I promise."

"But you're also taking classes at that school – I don't know the people there, and" I cut her off.

"Mom. You're never going to know all the people everywhere I go. I'm just trying to get some more film classes in. One more time, it's all going to be fine."

"I know. I just worry."

"I know you do."

"I'm going to miss you, Spence." She exhaled.

"You too, Mom." She embraced me in a tight hug. I knew this was difficult for her. I was her one and only daughter, also her youngest, leaving the nest to go off to South Carolina for the summer. I had lived at home my whole life.

"Don't change too much on me." She said, still holding me tight.

"I'll try not to," I laughed.

After we had said our goodbyes, tearful on her part, I descended the stairs and took a step out into the thick humidity. As much as I looked forward to open air and maybe the chance to glimpse a star not eclipsed by the city lights, I was going to miss it here. I stepped to the curb and put my hand out decidedly, hailing a cab. I hopped in, gave my destination, and I was off. I watched New York City roll by, noting all of the places I knew I would miss. Tears filled my eyes and I chose then to focus my blurry vision on the red numbers, cost specifically, that grew exponentially by the minute.

It wasn't that I didn't want to go – I did – but I was going to miss it here: my mom and dad, my friends, my life. I knew it was only the summer, but I couldn't help but feel that something was going to change while I was away, that my life might never be exactly the same. I couldn't explain the feeling, and as much as I hated to admit it, maybe my mom was right. Maybe it was a big deal. I was excited by the prospect of something totally new, but I was admittedly a little bit terrified. I couldn't decide whether having Glen there should be of consolation or apprehension.

I plugged my headphones into my ears and listened to some music, hoping that it would drown out the mental noise of my anticipation.

The entire experience of flying alone was a pleasant one: security was easy enough to pass through, I boarded right on time, and I slept for most of my flight to Charleston.

"Glen, it's Spencer. Pick up your phone. I am in Charleston, where I know no one, and I'm by myself. You were supposed to be here when I landed. I don't even know where we're going so I can't call a cab. If mom knew you weren't here, she'd probably actually kill you. Don't make me think about telling her." I paused and took a breath. "Please just call me." I hung up the phone, and sank onto a bench, my face falling frustratedly into my hands. Go figure, leave it to Glen to be completely irresponsible.

"Hey," I heard an unfamiliar voice behind me. I turned and faced the stranger, a boy of around my age, with a strong jaw-line. Blue eyes peered out from beneath dark eyebrows. His jet-black hair fell softly onto his bronzed face, and using a gentle finger, he pushed the mess from his eyes. My mouth opened to say something, but I couldn't muster a word. Thankfully, he spoke again, "I really don't want to sound like a creep, but I couldn't help but hear you. Were you talking to Glen Carlin, by any chance?"

"Uh, yeah. I was. You know him?"

"Actually, yeah. You're his little sister, Spencer, right?"

"Yes. How do you know this?" For a moment my mind flickered to the pepper spray in my bag in case of emergency.

"Well I'm actually in the program with him. And you, I guess. I live in the same house as you guys. Glen said he was going to pick you up this evening, but, uh… well, he couldn't for various reasons." His eyes darted to the ground; he was hiding something.

"Why couldn't he come? And why didn't he call?"

"Well… Wednesday nights are kind of… uh…" He stammered.

"Are what?"

"Party nights" he sighed, "He told me he wasn't going to drink tonight because he had to come and get you, but when I got back today he was already at least 6 beers in. I didn't want him driving out here, so at the risk of coming off as a totally creepy stranger offering you a ride, I decided to come get you." I scoffed, how like Glen. I couldn't wait to yell at him in the morning. I looked forward to it with a little more malice than I cared to admit.

"Well thank you for covering my irresponsible brother…" It suddenly occurred to me that I didn't know his name.

"Aiden," he said offering his hand.

"Spencer," I shook it, "but you already knew that." I laughed, and so did he. It was a genuine laugh, and his eyes smiled.

"Yeah, I really didn't want to seem creepy, but there was no graceful way of getting a hold of you." He laughed again. I decided that I liked his laugh. "Give me a chance to redeem myself?" He said, beginning to walk towards the door.

"Eh, I guess so." I joked. He flashed me a smile, holding the door open for me.

The ride to Seabrook consisted of us sharing life stories in a nutshell. I told him of my life in New York, my friends, and how I wanted to take a film class at the local community college while doing Habitat for Humanity. He told me about his life here, how he had worked with Habitat for Humanity every summer since he was twelve, how he liked meeting the new groups of people every year. His face lit up when he talked about this year's crew, apparently a good one. We talked about Glen, who he seemed to like, despite his generally poor life decisions, and how even though Glen was here for the partying, he still put good work into building the homes.

I watched the scenery grow more rural, with picket fences and tropical looking plants rolling by, illuminated beneath the orangey street lights. Soon I noted the 'Welcome to Seabrook Sign,' growing increasingly accustomed to the salty air. We turned onto a poorly paved road, shaded by a canopy of tall foliage. I imagined that the road must be pretty dark even in the light of day. Aiden stopped the car in front of a brown house composed of wooden shingles. It looked as if it might fall apart within the next month, but I wasn't here to stay in the Ritz, so I just made a note to go easy on the place – not to make too many sudden movements that might cause it to topple.

"Welcome to the house. Almost all the houses on this street are owned by Habitat for Humanity, so most of the residents are more kids like us. It's actually pretty fun to live around here."

"Yeah I can imagine." I said quietly, taking it all in. While my back was turned, Aiden grabbed all of my bags and slung them over his muscular shoulder. "Hey! I can take those." I argued.

"You can carry this one." He threw me my handbag. "I'm not sure that I'm fit enough to carry that one all the way to the door, so I'll leave that to you, muscles."

"Hey!" I punched him lightly on the arm. I remarked upon how at ease I was, after knowing him for no more than a couple hours.

We walked together up the stairs, and even with my bags in tow, he managed to hold the screen door open for me. I decided then, that southern boys were already better than New Yorkers. I walked through the door and my eardrums thudded with the intense bass of the loud music.

"Spencer!" My name, drunkenly slurred, boomed from behind me, and before I could even turn, some unknown guy was wrapped around me in a hug. He smelled strongly of shitty beer, and I shot a skeptical glance at Aiden, who immediately stepped in.

"Easy, Emory." Aiden spoke, peeling the boy from me. "Yes, this is Spencer." He turned to me. "They're really excited, you see, you're our only girl in the house." Seeing my suddenly anxious look, he added, "Don't worry, Glen has told us all that unfortunately, none of us can hook up with you. Isn't that right, Emory?"

I couldn't even pay attention to Emory's response, for I had locked on to Aiden's use of 'unfortunately.' Did that mean he wished he could hook up with me? I tried not to read too far into it. Still, I couldn't help but ponder how I felt about it: the confusing part was, I didn't even know. Was I happy? Did I feel excitement at that? I mean, Aiden was really not bad to look at.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Emory." I said, shaking his clammy palm. Before I could be attacked by any of the other inebriated guys or girls partying in the background, I quickly asked, "Where's my room? I'd like to put some of my stuff down if that's alright."

"Of course," Aiden answered. "Right this way." He led me up the numerous flights of stairs, passing many doors, all the way to the attic. I guess I must have looked skeptical, because he said, "Don't worry, it's not a typical attic, it's actually a finished bedroom, the only one with a bathroom attached. Probably with the best air conditioning in the house, actually." I smiled, a little reassured. "We decided to give you the tower, since you're the princess of the house." I laughed.

"And I guess all the princes get to sleep below."

"Oh, don't be generous. We're more like jesters." I chuckled with him. He turned the doorknob slowly, then pushed it open.

"Spencer?" Glen was spread eagled across my bed, with nothing but his boxers on.

"Ew, Glen!" I squealed, "Cover up, and what are you doing in here? I thought this was my room." Glen took the blankets of my bed and wrapped them around him.

"It is… w-wait," He stuttered, "how did you get here?"

"Aiden picked me up from the airport, no thanks to you." I spat. "Now, what are you doing in here? And undressed?" He suddenly burst into breathless laughter. I wasn't sure I'd ever seen Glen this drunk. Then again, this made sense because I did tend to stay away from him in most social situations.

"This is awkward" He laughed, barely able to get the words out. "It's a long story, but," He was interrupted by a noise from the bathroom – and not just any noise – it was gagging.

"Who is in there?"

"My girlfriend." Glen said proudly.

"Wait, you have a girlfriend?" He opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, I continued, "And you're just sitting here, while she's alone and sick in there?"

"It's really gross!" Glen exclaimed.

"Honestly, Glen. What the hell?" I said, dropping my handbag, and turning to grab the others from Aiden, the innocent bystander. "Could you take him downstairs?" I whispered, "I'll take care of this in here. Just get him out of here." Aiden nodded.

"Are you sure? I can help up here."

"It's really fine. I'm just afraid I'm going to punch Glen if I can't get him out of my sight." I smiled, but I wasn't kidding. I hoped he didn't know that.

"Okay" he said, moving into the room. "Glen, I think Emory's been looking for you, he needs a pong partner and everyone knows you're the best." I admired his tactics – playing to Glen's ego. Already he knew Glen well.

Glen rose immediately, grabbing his shirt and throwing it over his head as he and Aiden made for the door. "Let me know if you need anything." Aiden whispered in my direction.

"Will do, thanks." He closed the door behind him, and immediately I went to work. Pulling my hair back into a ponytail, I entered the bathroom where on the floor was a crumpled up girl. Her head shot around to look at me, but it looked as if she regretted moving so fast, and her hand immediately clutched the side of her face. Her curly reddish-brown hair was somewhat dabbled in vomit, her dark eye makeup having smeared to at least an inch below her eyes. Needless to say, she had seen better days.

"Are you a doctor?" She asked me.

"No, I'm Spencer. I'm Glen's sister." I said, kneeling beside her on the white tile floor.

"Okay good, because I don't need one." She smiled widely. "I am _totally_ fine. Like really, I'm totally 100% fine. Just f -" She stopped mid word, gagged, and threw her head into the toilet bowl, clutching both sides for support.

"It's okay, it's okay." I said, moving closer. As much as it sickened me, I ran my fingers through her hair, pulling it back into an extra hair-tie I had on my wrist, making a mental note that I did not want that one back. I stroked her tanned back gently while she threw up her guts. Her black tank top was wet with something, and her jeans likewise had wet patches. She continued to intermittently spew for something like the next 20 minutes, and then she seemed to almost fall asleep over the toilet bowl. I waited for a couple minutes to see that she was done puking, and then I decided to wake her - I couldn't imagine that she wanted to sleep here over the toilet.

"Hey," I gently took hold of her shoulder. "Hey, can you wake up for me?"

"I'm awake." She whispered.

"Okay, well let's try to get you up off the floor so we can get you somewhere to sleep. Can you sit up for me?" I spoke in the kindest voice I could muster. She slowly lifted her head from the toilet and looked at me.

"Have we met?" She smiled. I had to admire the fact that she was smiling; despite the fact that she had just been spilling her insides for God only knows how long.

"I'm Spencer, Glen's sister." I said, internally chuckling at the fact that I had to repeat myself.

"Oh! Glen's sister! You're cuter than he let on!" She yelled. I giggled, feeling almost as if I wanted to blush. "I'm Ashley, and I want to sleep in my own bed." She paused, holding a finger up as if to note something important. "And you're welcome to join me, if you want to." I laughed a little more.

"Thank you for the offer, but I think maybe you should sleep here, just because I'm not sure that we're going to be able to get you to anywhere else."

"Please? Please, please, please? I really want to sleep in _myyyyyyyyy_ bed." She said, emphasis on the 'my.' "I live right next door. It will be so easy! Watch, I can even get up and walk myself. Ready? Watch!" Putting her feet beneath her, she pushed off the ground quickly, and lost her balance just as fast. Thankfully I rose quickly to catch her. Much to my dismay, my own clothes were now speckled with throw-up, given that it covered most of her front side.

"Okay, maybe we'll try to get you to your bed, but first we have to get you cleaned off." I looked around. "Here, I'll turn the shower on, and I'll turn around and you can get undressed, put on one of my bikinis, and step in. Put your clothes in this trashcan here – we can wash them later. You can borrow some of mine for now."

"Okay" she nodded eagerly. "But!" she exclaimed. "You can watch me get undressed if you want to." I laughed again, but this time it was more of a nervous reaction, as I didn't quite know what to make of her.

"That's okay." I said, turning on the water. "Give me one second and I'll grab a bathing suit." I left the room and dug through my duffel until I found a bikini, and my toiletries. When I returned, she was leaning against the white counter just as I had left her. "Just go ahead, and once you're in and you've got the bathing suit on, I'll help you wash your hair." She did as I asked, and about a minute later, she screamed,

"I'm in!" triumphantly. I chuckled again, and moved towards the shower, shampoo bottle in hand. "Peek-a-boo!" She yelled as I pulled the curtain open. She erupted in a peal of laughter at herself. I helped her to rinse her hair out, then I applied the shampoo and then the conditioner. I tried not to, but I couldn't help looking at her body. The girl was deeply bronzed from head to toe, and her body was flawless: perfect little arms, chiseled abs, and an adorable butt. Rather than focus on the fact that I was analyzing her body, I let myself become infuriated at Glen. How could he have let this happen? Firstly, how could he let her get this drunk? Secondly, how could he leave her in here like this? I was fuming. "Can you wash my face too? I think my makeup is a little smeared." I agreed, grabbing a facecloth, dabbling it in a little eye-makeup remover, and rubbing her cheeks gently.

"I can wash you too if you want." She said, trying to pry the wash cloth from my hand.

"That's nice of you, but I'm fine." I laughed. "I didn't puke on myself tonight."

"Right, right." She agreed.

Soon she was clean, and I grabbed my Beatles 'Abbey Road' t-shirt and some shorts for her.

"Thank you for bathing me." She said. "You know, we've been through an awful lot together, given that I've only known you for a little over an hour."

"Yes," I smiled, "I'd say you're right."

"Good. Now let's go sleep in my bed."

"Okay, we'll try to get you there." I escorted her carefully out the door and down the stairs, her arm over my shoulder so that she could use me as a crutch. This house was not designed for drunken conquests. Finally I made it to the front door, and we were successfully out in the cool night. "Okay, neighbor on the left, or the right?"

"Right." She said. I turned us to the right, and she corrected herself, "I meant left. Sorry."

"It's okay." I reassured her. When we were at the doorstep, I verified that this was, in fact, the house, and she affirmed. We climbed the stairs, through the door, snuck past the party on the first floor, up to the second floor where she told me to go through the second door. We entered a fairly bland room without much decoration, but she had put some of her own things up. Picture frames lined her bedside tables, containing pictures of her and various friends. I sat her down on the bed, whose soft mattress sunk beneath her weight.

"Tuck me in?" She asked. I nodded, and peeled back the unmade comforter and sheets, pulling them back up over her little body.

"Are you alright now? Do you need anything else?"

"No, but wait, are you leaving?" She implored, looking up at me with doe eyes.

"I was going to go back to my room and go to sleep."

"Why don't you just sleep here?"

"I don't know." I replied. In a way I couldn't explain, part of me kind of wanted to.

"Please? I don't want to be alone tonight." I knew then that I couldn't say no.

"I guess I can." I replied.

"Yay! Sleepover!" She shouted, scooting her body over to the other side of the bed. She patted the side near me. I sat down and then reclined, pulling the blankets over me, then eventually clicked the lamp off.

My body faced the door, away from her and I curled into a comfortable position. My eyes were closed for just a moment when she spoke again. "One more thing." I turned my head, and before I could even look at her, she pecked my cheek with a kiss. "Thanks for everything tonight." I could feel myself blushing. Why was I blushing?

"You're welcome." I replied quietly. I immediately sunk into deep thought about this crazy day. First the flight, then Glen not being there, then Aiden, then Glen again, then Aiden being so sweet, then Ashley. Oh Ashley. Why was I even here? I shouldn't be sleeping in her bed. I justified it with the possibility of her being sick again, even though I secretly knew she was done. What a strange way to meet your brother's girlfriend, I thought. I didn't even know if she'd remember this in the morning – if she'd remember me. I immediately planned to be out early, so that when she woke up I wouldn't be here.

"Okay I'm sorry, one last thing. I'm so sorry." She said remorsefully.

"Yes?"

"Can I sleep closer to you? I'm cold and I think I just have the shakes from getting sick."

"Uh, yeah, sure." I replied, trying not to sound uncomfortable. Why was I uncomfortable? This wasn't that weird, was it?

"Thanks" She replied. She inched her way over to my side of the bed and threw her arm over my side, tightly hugging my middle. She pressed her shivering body against mine, and her face into my shoulder. Feeling a sudden and inexplicable protective need to quell her shivers, I pushed myself back into her, my back against her front, the bottoms of my legs against the tops of hers, our feet gently touching, getting as close as possible. For whatever reason, it was as if every part of me she touched ignited in small tingling flames. I chalked it up to the possibility that I was cold too.

"Okay, one more thing," she whispered, her warm breath tickling the nape of my neck. "Goodnight, Spencer."

"Goodnight, Ashley." I whispered back. I could feel a smile creeping onto my face -I liked that she remembered my name, but once again, I couldn't figure out why. Tired of not understanding my own feelings, I let myself begin to slip away, sure that clarity would find me when I wasn't so boggled by the chaotic montage of today's events. Regardless of right now, what happened tonight, or even what would happen tomorrow, I had this feeling of certainty that this night was the start of something new. I felt a shift, a pull. A feeling of excitement flared up in my chest and I couldn't fathom why. I couldn't tell you what was coming, but I had a positive feeling – an intuition – that somehow, I was going to have to disobey my mom. Something in me was bound to change.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey everyone! Alrighty, here's chapter 2. It's long, and it kind of follows a bunch of subplots, but I hope you like it. Sorry it took a while, but life's a little crazy with finals coming up, and I must say this is a pretty long chapter. Anyhow, please PLEASE let me know what you think so I can use your criticism, compliments, etc to help me shape how I write the next chapters. Thanks so much to all who left feedback – it really means a lot to me. I don't know when the next will be up, but I'll try for sometime this week. Thanks guys, and enjoy,

Love always,

M.

Chapter 2

Have you ever been in bed, lying awake, wishing you were asleep, but not being able to because you were anxious about something? That was me at about 6 am. For the majority of the night I slept soundly, but at just about sunrise, my eyes opened and I saw patches of the room where it wasn't quite as dark: shadows with blurred edges were cast onto the walls, the sun not having made its grand appearance quite yet over the silhouetted horizon. Ashley's arm held me to her body with the same force as when she placed it around me those hours ago– we hadn't moved all night, and truthfully, given the choice, I wouldn't move all day. Her body provided me with the perfect warmth in a chilly room, my little space heater. I was curled up comfortably, and I was still so tired. I knew I should be out of here by 7, so I permitted myself to sleep another hour, but to no avail. I was awake, knowing I had to leave, knowing that Ashley may not have any idea who I was today. This notion upset me a little. Would we otherwise be friends? Would she choose to talk to me when she was sober? Was I the type of girl she could be friends with?

It suddenly occurred to me that I didn't know this girl at all. I knew her name, and that she could get drunk… oh, and that she was my brother's girlfriend. I barely knew her at all, and yet still I wanted to be friends. I couldn't understand myself – why would I have such an inclination towards someone I knew nothing about? Why did I care whether she would like me or not? Frankly, I should have disliked her on principle just given that she was dating Glen. Still, for reasons I couldn't begin to grasp, I wanted to know her, and I wanted her to know me.

My wild thoughts were interrupted by a gentle breath, and a little noise coming from the girl whose face pressed into my neck and shoulder. I hoped desperately that she wasn't waking up. Thankfully, after a minute of holding my breath, it was clear that she was still sleeping. I decided that was too close– time to leave.

Taking her hand in mine, I gently peeled her arm off of me, and placed it over her side, which rose and fell evenly. I sat up as slowly as possible, trying not to shake the mattress. I stood and lifted the blankets over her – feeling a little bad that I was robbing her of authentic body heat.

The thing that happened next is something I couldn't explain one bit. Without thought, without hesitation, without any reason – I took my hand and gently wiped a piece of hair from her face, gingerly tracing her cheek with my fingertip and lingering a moment. As soon as I realized I was affectionately touching an unconscious girl who I barely even knew, I ripped my hand away. Why did I do that? That could have awoken her. I scolded myself as I walked from the room. I descended the stairs, stepped over some dormant bodies that had drunkenly chosen the floor as their bed, and left the house, knowing full well that I was going right back to sleep as soon as I could reach my room.

I had crossed the threshold and bee-lined for the stairs when someone spoke.

"Spencer?" I nearly jumped out of my skin.

"Oh my god, you scared me." I replied breathlessly, running a hand into my hair.

"Sorry," Aiden laughed. "What are you doing up so early? Did you go out last night?"

"Yes and no. I helped Ashley home last night and I ended up crashing there. At the risk of her not knowing who I was, I wanted to get out of there fast."

"Good, for a second I thought maybe you were a little more like Glen than I had thought – going out with literally no one you knew and staying out all night and all."

"No," I exhaled, "at least not intentionally." There was a pause.

"So you spent the night with Ashley…" Another pause.

"Yep." I replied awkwardly.

"Is… everything okay? With you I mean?" His eyebrows furrowed together.

"Yeah, why wouldn't it be?"

"No reason, she can just be … a lot to take in sometimes. She comes on a little strong." I knew that wasn't all that he wanted to say, but I figured I'd wait until I knew him a little better before I pressed him for details.

"I guess so. You know her well?" I figured that was a fair question.

"One might say that." He replied, looking at the floor. "Well, we've lived in the same town our whole lives. We're bound to know each other."

"Right." I admitted, making a mental note to dig for more later. Wait, why was I even digging? Why did it matter? The questions prattled on. Aiden looked up at me with tired eyes, and gave me a closed mouthed smile.

"Well, what are your plans for today?"

"Um," I stammered. I actually didn't really know. "I was just going to go back to sleep for a while. I don't have to be at the building site until next week, and I don't have to be at film classes until Monday. I guess I could go today, but that's not until about 2."

"Well, before you can start building on your own at the site, you've got to shadow someone for a day just to see how everything works." Aiden suggested.

"What, they don't think I can handle it on my own?" I teased.

"We use power tools, for manly men. Little girls like you aren't naturally equipped to deal with these kinds of things." He smiled.

"That's the second lack of brute strength joke you've made at me in the last 24 hours. Watch it, or I might just have to beat your ass." I threatened with a laugh.

"Oh I'm scared now." He replied, throwing his hands above his head, his eyes wide with mock fright. I went to jokingly punch his open chest, when his hand quickly caught my wrist. "And that's the second time you've tried to physically harm me. I'm calling the police. This is domestic abuse. You will be jailed for sure."

"They can't do anything to me, I'm still 17. And I figure it's only a matter of time until you start to exhibit the signs of Stockholm Syndrome, then you'll never report me."

"Damn," He exhaled, rolling his eyes, "there goes my dignity and strength." His hand still gripped my wrist. Our eyes met, as if we had both realized our continued contact at the same time. We lingered there for a moment, stagnant. Finally, I gently brought my hand back toward me, looked at the floor, cleared my throat and put on a half smile.

"So this shadowing thing… You're suggesting that I do it today?" I spoke, trying to diffuse the silence I couldn't quite understand.

"Well, you could always do it next week and just really start a day later, but if you felt like it, I'd be happy to show you the ropes today." He answered. Before I could say something, he continued, "And if you wanted to, I could drive you to your film class at 2." I thought for a moment, and then agreed.

"Okay, sure." The only other thing I would have done would have been sleeping, I had no other plans, and Aiden made the offer sound enticing. I also noted that I wouldn't mind being able to chat with him for the day. "Just let me go up to my room and get ready."

"Okay, don't worry about looking nice – you get a little messy when working on the homes."

"Oh please, I always look nice. I'm offended that you'd suggest anything otherwise."

"Oh shit, I stepped in it." He laughed. "Well it's going to be hard enough to keep all of the guys there from stepping to you – it'd help if you didn't _try_ to look any more beautiful." I could feel myself blushing. Beautiful?

"Quick recovery." I joked, hoping that I had concealed how flattered I really was. "Alright, I'll be back down in 5, and I'll be ready for adventure"

"Perfect." He said, flashing me a beaming smile. "Well, as long as you don't plan on abusing me." He covered his head, pretending to be afraid.

"You and I both know that I can't do that in public. Consider yourself spared."

The building site was a busy place, a bunch of kids my age running to and fro, with some moderating adults sprinkled into the mix. From what I could see just by looking, there were 3 homes going up, the skeletons of which stood tall and sturdy in the morning light. Aiden lead me to the one that he'd been working on: the one all the way on the right. He told me that the framing for this house was finished, so our job was to install windows and doors. There was a crew of people gathered around the house who turned around when we approached.

"Everyone, this is Spencer. She's Glen's little sister." Aiden said to the bunch, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Spencer, this is Michael Gladstone," a small but built guy with visible shadow around his chin shook my hand heartily, "this is Cameron Lockley," a tall blonde guy reached out and took my hand, "this is Shelby Thompson," a tall girl with the body of a basketball player said hello, "and this is Tom Randall," a guy of medium height with long brown hair nodded his head in my direction.

"It's nice to meet you all." I said collectively.

"Glen's also in this group, but I expect that he'll be late." Cameron said, elbowing me.

"I wonder if he'll bring Ashley around today." Michael wondered aloud.

"Ugh, I hope not," Shelby said under her breath, then whispered to me, "no one focuses when she's around. It takes ten times longer to get things done." I laughed nervously. "Have you met her yet?"

"Yeah," I replied, "but she wasn't exactly in her right mind, so I might have to meet her again."

"No surprise there." Shelby added, "She's trashed all the time." I nodded, looking down. Was she really drunk all the time? I wondered what her home life was like, if this was true. Some foreign protective instinct disliked the way that Shelby spoke so openly about her in this way.

"Hey," Tom chimed with a clear voice, "you never know what's going on with someone, so don't be so quick to judge."

"I'm not judging," Shelby retorted, "just stating the facts." There was a moment's silence. Tom looked over his glasses at Shelby, over to me, and then back to Shelby.

"Well I think we've all got some incriminating facts on each of us, so unless you want the world to know your facts, cut it out." Tom turned and walked toward the skeleton of the house, sandpaper in hand. Shelby rolled her eyes.

"Just ignore him. Sometimes he feels the need to be the righteous one." I offered a smile in response, deciding against telling her that I agreed with his side.

"Hey, Spencer," Aiden called from behind me, "How about I give you a tour of the site? I want to do that and then show you how to use the power tools before I take you to your film class." I stepped toward him, opening my mouth to agree when a voice spoke from behind me.

"You like film?" I turned and it was Tom.

"Yeah, I can't really get enough of it right now" I smiled.

"Me too. Wait, did you say you were taking a class?"

"Mmhm" I nodded.

"Here at the high school?"

"Yep."

"Me too. I can take you there if you want." He turned his gaze to Aiden, "Save you the ride?"

"Uh, okay." Aiden nodded, his eyes darting skeptically. "If that's okay with you, Spencer?" The way he was looking at me, it was as if he wanted me to say no. His eyes were pleading. It made me sad to see him this way, but at the same time I wanted to get to know Tom a little bit better – he was kind of intriguing.

"Yeah, totally fine." I said to Aiden, then smiling at Tom.

"Cool." Tom replied, the corners of his mouth turning up subtly. There was something very cryptic about him – perhaps just the fact that he was a little more stand-offish than the others – regardless, he seemed interesting, and the thought of spending more time with him excited me.

"Ready?" Aiden asked, reclaiming my attention. I nodded and joined him as we began to walk the perimeter of the site.

He pointed out everything: the tool shed, the picnic tables, the port-a-potties, and finally the maroon pavilion. Located at the center of the site, the pavilion was like a huge covered gazebo, with tables inside. On the tables were the plans for each of the three houses, as well as sign up sheets for tasks on each of them, lined up with dates. Aiden suggested that I sign up to be in his group for next week, so I did. While looking at the plans for each house, Aiden began asking me questions.

"So do you like living in New York?"

"Yeah, I mean it's really busy so it's nice to get away to somewhere so quiet, but I do like the constant activity. You don't really get bored there. What about you, living here?"

"Eh, it's alright. It's mainly fun in the summertime. It gets a little too quiet in the off seasons. Do you have a lot of friends at home?"

"Yeah, one or two may come visit this summer actually. They're great."

"Oh that will be fun." He added, absently. There was definitely something else he wanted to say. 

"Yeah." I said, filling a silence that was growing a little awkward.

"Do you, uh, have a boyfriend?" There it was. I paused.

"Nah, nobody really special." He nodded, his eyes changing in a way I couldn't quite put my finger on. "What about you? Have a girlfriend?"

"Nope." He replied simply.

"No one meeting your standards?" I teased.

"No, that's certainly not it." He laughed.

"Why, do you like someone?"

"Who knows"

"You should know." I said, lowering my eyebrows in a scrutinizing way. He looked at me blankly, and I pursed my lips in a scowl. I couldn't exactly fathom why I was pressing him – if there was something I wanted to hear.

"Well maybe I'll just keep you guessing – add a little mystery to this dynamic between us."

"I don't like guessing." I rolled my eyes. "But for you, maybe I'll make an exception. I mean, you did selflessly pick me up from the airport and all." He smiled and turned to walk out of the gazebo. I followed, noting a smile on my face, too.

We stopped at the picnic tables and sat down, each of us grabbing one of the sandwiches from the neat pyramid on the tray. We chatted easily over lunch, and I was glad to be getting to know him a little better. He seemed genuinely nice, unusual for a guy of his attractiveness. He listened intently to me, seeming to hang onto my every word. He remembered details, small things that I said in passing and brought them back up in later conversation. I wondered what he really thought of me. Was his first impression of me as positive as mine was of him? I hoped it was. I couldn't figure out exactly how I wanted him to think of me, or what I wanted him to think, but I knew that I wanted it to be good.

When we had finished eating, we walked over to the tool shed, where he grabbed two pairs of goggles and two pairs of gloves. While fixated on the giant gloves as I pulled them over my hands, Aiden placed the goggles on my face, setting the band just underneath my ponytail, which he tousled playfully. He showed me each of the power tools, each one buzzing powerfully, cutting with ease into test wood. I was nervous to try them, but with his help I cut through planks of wood, and drove screws in and out.

The chainsaw buzzed violently, vibrating in my hands as I cut through a log, when suddenly I felt a tap on my shoulder on the side opposite Aiden. Startled, I swung around, almost forgetting to flick the switch on the chainsaw as I turned and nearly hit Tom.

He jumped backwards, his hands up on either side of him as if surrendering.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry" I gasped. "You just scared me."

"How kind of you to return the favor." He said. At first I couldn't tell if he was joking or using passive aggressive sarcasm, but after a couple moments the corners of his mouth perked up, and I sighed. "It's about quarter of two so I figured we should get rolling."

"Right." I muttered, suddenly remembering that I was going to the film class today. Aiden had distracted me well. I put the chainsaw down on the table, quickly pulling off the gloves. "Alright, let's go."

"Just one thing you're forgetting," He said pointing to his glasses. I reached up to touch my face, and remembered that I had goggles on. "unless those are the latest fashion statement that I simply missed."

"Funny." I said sarcastically, as I pulled them off. I turned to Aiden, "I guess I'll see you later at the house?"

"Yep." He replied, looking a little defeated. "Have fun at your class."

"Thanks," I called over my shoulder as Tom and I began to walk, "and thanks for showing me everything today. Now at least I know what I can kill you with when you threaten to call the police on my domestic abuse." He laughed, which made me feel better about leaving him. Tom threw me a cynical sideways glance. "Don't even ask."

"Wasn't going to."

The ride to the high school was a short one, and relatively silent. Tom looked out at the road, his long wavy hair gently blowing in the air coming in through the open windows. From what I could see, he seemed perfectly content to be sitting in silence, his face not showing any signs of tension, so I relaxed too. It was strange, to be with a stranger in a comfortable silence: something unusual, and certainly profound enough to remark upon. In a way I can't quite explain, I felt that were going to be friends. We just clicked.

"I like you." He said suddenly. Once again, in a way I can't explain, I could feel that he meant platonic 'like,' and I was happy he said it,

"I like you too." I answered. "And thank you so much for taking me today. I really appreciate it."

"Anytime. I could take you everyday. It's obviously not out of my way at all, and you're not annoying, so I really don't mind."

"Thanks" I said, offering a smile, which he returned. "Tell me something about yourself."

"I would, and basically could because I could tell my life's story in a matter of seconds, but we're basically here so I'll save that conversation for the next ride." He pulled into a parking spot and pulled the keys from the ignition.

We walked into the school together, passing generic classrooms that looked just like one another. When we finally arrived at the correct room, he held he door for me. We sat down beside one another in the third row of desks. We had another 5 minutes before class began, so he explained to me that Mondays and Tuesdays were film watching days, sometimes Wednesday if it carried over the two hour long periods. When this wasn't the case, Wednesdays, and then Thursdays and Fridays were discussion and assignment days. He wished today was a film watching class.

"It's just that…. Well, Mrs. Higgins is a little arrogant sometimes. She definitely knows her stuff, but she makes it her job to berate some students. I just prefer classes where she doesn't play much of a part. Just make sure not to get onto her bad side."

"Will do, thanks for the warning." No sooner had those words escaped my lips when someone came through the door. Another student, but not just any random student. I'd seen her before. She'd randomly popped up in my thoughts all day. Ashley.

Once she sat down, she tucked her legs up beneath her in the desk diagonally in front of mine. She was focused intently on something she pulled out; a crinkled piece of lined paper in front of her with traces of erased scribbles over almost every inch. A pencil gripped in her hand, she would write furiously for a moment, pause, and then erase: a consistent cycle – a steady rhythm. I fell easily into watching her, not even noticing that the class had begun, and Mrs. Higgins had started her lecture. Ashley was much more interesting There was something graceful about her gestures, however erratic and indecisive they might have been. It might have been the way that she had one hand twisted into her reddish brown hair, propping her head up… or the way that her fingers gripped the pencil tightly, with some sort of purpose. Maybe it was the slow rising and falling of her back with each breath. I didn't even realize how long I'd been watching her until I was rudely ripped away. Tom snapped his fingers in my direction to get my attention, but it was too late. Mrs. Higgins had caught me in her sight.

"Who, my attention lacking friend, are you?"

"Erm," I stammered, "I'm Spencer Carlin. I officially start next week, but I was here so I thought I'd stop by. I'm sorry for not giving my full attention. Must be jet lag." I offered.

"And where are you from, Ms. Carlin?" Oh no, I thought.

"New York." I said quietly, after a long pause.

"Dear, there is no jet lag between here and there. I ask that you pay attention from this point on." I nodded my head apologetically. I tought she was finished, but she continued, "You should know that I have a policy against copying other students."

"Mrs. Higgins, I'm so sorry, I was just - "

"But if you are going to copy someone," she interrupted, "It should not be Miss Davies. She's not what you would call a model student." Some of the class chuckled, throwing sideways glances. I was mortified. She would certainly know now that I'd been watching her. I didn't even know if she remembered who I was. She looked up and around. She smiled smugly.

"Damn proud of it, Mrs. H," she said happily. Then turning to me, she spoke, "And for the record, should you want to, you're welcome to copy me anytime you want…." She held out her hand to shake mine. In her eyes there was no recognition – no slight twinge of 'have I seen you before?' or 'you look familiar.' In one way I was happy she didn't recognize me, didn't find my on looking creepy. In another way, however, it stung. For whatever reason, I guess I wanted her to remember me, and my chest felt a little hollow as I groped for breath to speak.

"Spencer." I finally exhaled.

"Spencer… I like it." She smiled a little more widely, and I couldn't help but note the way her nose crinkled. "I'm Ashley."

"Nice to meet you, Ashley." I replied with a forced smile. God, this was weird: meeting someone for the second time in 24 hours.

"Not to interrupt, but may I get on with my class?" the teacher asked sarcastically.

"Sorry."

"Don't apologize to her," Ashley hissed in a whisper. "She's an asshole."

"What was that Ashley?" chimed a disgruntled teacher.

"Hmm?" Ashley mocked, playing dumb. The teacher turned away with a huff, and continued scrawling on the board. Ashley giggled lightly then shot a wink in my direction. My anxiety dissipated a little, and I was smiling before I could even register what had happened.

The rest of the class passed quickly by, analysis words floating in and out of my head at quick intervals. I was distracted by the girl before me. I admired the way that she was so at ease about everything – even about a teacher being so out of line as to call her out for no reason – I was the one who was supposedly looking off another after all. All I could think about was how much I wanted her to know me. A desire burned through me, and I realized I had never wanted to be someone's friend so badly before, so desperately. I was at a loss for what to do. It briefly occurred to me that I should actually be listening, given that the subject matter was why I was here, but I was blinded by the girl before me.

The class was dismissed, and for the first time, I averted my eyes from Ashley and back to Tom, who looked at me very skeptically.

"I'll explain later." I whispered, and he seemed satisfied with that. We stood up, and I scanned the room once more for Ashley, who seemed to have vanished completely. I felt my spirits fall a little, and for the first time I didn't really question myself as to why I was so immersed in her. This was not because I knew why, I didn't, but asking myself was getting old. Tom and I exited the room, and I had turned for the way we came in when I heard a voice behind me.

"Spencer," her voice rang. I immediately knew who it was. I whipped around so quickly that I must have gotten whip lash.

"Hey, what' up?" I fired out a little too quickly. Why was I so awkward?

"Nothing too much," she replied, running a hand through her hair. "I just wanted to properly introduce myself." She jokingly bowed, swirling her hand in front of her. "Ashley Davies, at your service." I laughed, maybe a little too hard.

"Spencer Carlin, very nice to officially meet you." Third introduction, and I hoped this was truly the official one.

"Carlin…" She stared, "Oh my God, you're Glen's sister!"

"That would be me…" I muttered, "Do I fall short of your expectations?"

"Not at all." She said seriously. Her look suddenly changed. "And I see you know Tom. The crème de la crème of Seabrook guys." She laughed.

"Very funny." Tom said sarcastically.

"I like to think I'm hilarious, actually."

"Well I like to think I'm a rhinoceros, but I'm not." Tom said. You could tell he was joking, but Tom said things in such a dry manner that he could probably be misinterpreted in the wrong context. Before Ashley could continue the repartee, Tom continued, "I hate to disrupt what is clearly an unbelievably sophisticated conversation, but Spencer, my mom texted me mid-class and she needs something from me, so I think we've gotta go so I can drop you off and get home."

"Okay, I'm ready whenev"

"Well I can take her." Ashley interrupted me, looking at Tom. Her gaze shifted to me, and then back to him again. "It's really not an issue, I was going to go see Glen anyway. You can go on home, I can take her from here." Tom searched my face for approval.

"That's fine" I said, excited to get to talk to her a little more.

"Okay, well then Spencer, Ashley, I'll see you two later." He nodded his head, then turned and walked towards the door. I looked to Ashley and smiled.

"Well." I said definitively.

"Well indeed." She turned and began walking towards the door, which I followed. "Tell me something about yourself."

"Um…" I paused to think. _Well, I've actually met you once before and completely took care of your drunk self last night_. "I live in New York City."

"Something I don't know through already knowing Glen, please."

"Okay… well I'm nothing like my brother. How's that for a fact?" I replied.

"Eh, kinda lame."

"Oh really? Fine, what can you tell me about yourself that is so much better?" I challenged.

"Easy. I'm a shit ton of fun, I love to laugh, I find mushrooms disgusting, I can't swim," I interrupted her.

"You can't swim?"

"I'm also not finished." I widened my eyes and raised my hands in sarcastic apology. "Thank you. I have a pet horse, I love Christmas, my dad's a rock star, my mom's a whore, I'm not narcoleptic, nor am I albino, I hate school, love partying, and…" she paused, clicking her car key. "Perfect timing. I have a Porsche." She looked at me expectantly. I didn't quite know how to respond to all of that.

"Okay. So you can't swim?" She laughed a genuine laugh, and I couldn't help but love the fact that something I said prompted such a nice sound.

"No," She said, climbing into the drivers seat. "Still in swimmies. You know, those blow up floatation devices that go around your arms?" I stared at her incredulously. "I'm kidding. I just don't get in the water." I sat in the passenger seat, and within moments, we were speeding out of the parking lot. "Don't be alarmed, I speed, but I'm a good driver."

"Oh I'm sure."

"Is that sarcasm, Miss Carlin?" She looked at me with questioning eyes, one eyebrow raised.

"No, please just look at the road." I said, taking my hand and gently pushing her cheek so that she was facing the road. I don't know what motivated me to do it, to touch her. I wasn't actually afraid of us crashing, but for whatever reason I did it, and something happened. I can't explain it, but it was like a spark ignited beneath my fingertips. I jerked my hand back quickly, looking away. I could feel her still looking at me – did she feel it too?

There was a long silence, a lull, a pause where I could feel her eyes boring into the side of my head. What was she thinking? She cleared her throat and swallowed.

"You look terrified." She said quietly. I honestly couldn't tell if she was serious. "are you?"

"No" I murmured. Somehow, I felt like I was lying. How was it that the mood changed so dramatically so quickly?

"Could have fooled me."

"Well I'm fine." I replied stiffly. The silence between us was undeniably uncomfortable. And it was undeniably mutual. "So… you have a horse?" I asked, hoping desperately that my internal panic would dissipate with the silence.

"Yeah," she spoke, "I've had him for years. His name is Riddle. Have you ever ridden?"

"No, I've always been too scared."

"Well maybe I can take you with me sometime. I promise I'll keep you safe." I felt myself starting to smile.

"Maybe." I said. "So can I ask you a serious question?"

"Yeah, shoot." She looked a little skeptical.

"What is it that you see in my brother?" She laughed. She looked… relieved? Was she expecting something else? "I mean, maybe it's just because he's my brother, but he's just… I don't know."

"He's definitely an interesting character." She paused. "I mean, he's hot." I winced. She laughed, "Sorry." She looked like she was still deep in thought, but she didn't say anything else about it.

"Well, fair enough. It's not my business, so sorry if I was intruding there."

"No, please, you're not at all." She said this easily, but she looked tense. The mood in this car fluctuated more than I cared for. "Speak of the devil."

We pulled onto the site, and Glen was jogging towards the car.

"Hey baby," he said once she had it in park. He leaned into the convertible and pressed his mouth to hers, winding his fingers into her hair. My stomach turned. I just attributed this to the fact that someone would willingly let Glen touch them like that. Close to her face, he spoke again, "what are you doing hanging around with people like this?" He carelessly gestured towards me without looking at me.

"Hey, be nice." She said, looking at me from the corner of her eye. "I like Spencer." She winked for the second time today in my direction, and for the second time my stomach fluttered.

"I see you two have reunited." Called a voice from the other direction. I turned to see a muscular silhouette headed our way, shaded beneath the trees.

"Aiden." I said quietly.

"You know Aiden?" Ashley asked me quickly, grabbing my wrist. I tried to ignore the tickle of flames that traveled up my arm at her touch.

"Yeah, I'm guessing you do too?"

"One might say that." She said, looking up. There was more to that story. I knew I'd have to press it out of one of them. "Wait, what does he mean reunited?"

"Oh nothing - "

"Aiden, what are you talking about?" She ignored my attempts to cover up the truth.

"You know… last night?"

"Aiden, please." I begged. I think he finally understood, recognition dawned on his face, but it was too late.

"Spencer, what is he talking about?"

"Oh my God." Glen exclaimed, realization dawning on him as well. Except for him, it was the return of a drunken memory.

"What?" Ashley repeated.

"I'm sorry, Spencer." Aiden began, "Ash, you were really drunk last night…."

"Yes…"

"And you met Spencer."

"Well that's embarrassing. I'm sorry for not remembering"

"That's not all." Aiden interrupted. Ashley's eyes froze, her gaze remaining on me even though it was Aiden who spoke. "Spencer really took care of you. Like, really. She took you home and you had her stay with you."

Ashley's eyes suddenly fell, her hands flying up to her cheeks. Staggering silence settled in around the 4 of us, and I felt like I needed to gasp for air. We were all suspended there, hanging in mid air, waiting for Ashley's words. My heart pounded in my chest and I prayed that this didn't change anything. That it wouldn't change our potential friendship. I wanted it so badly, her friendship. I couldn't understand why, but I did. I wanted it. I needed it. I longed to reach out and touch her shoulder, her arm, her cheek. Tell her that it was fine, that I didn't mind, that she didn't need to be embarrassed. I waited there, watching her intently, my mouth ajar. I wanted to say something but I couldn't, so I waited. This matter of seconds seemed an eternity.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys! Sorry to keep you waiting – I actually ended up reading a bunch of fics that kept me way too invested to be writing my own stuff haha. Thank you so much for your feedback, I really appreciate it – so motivating! Anyway, here's another chapter. I had some fun with this one, so I hope you like it! Let me know what you think. I'll try to get the next one up soon.

Chapter 3

"I… I don't even know what to say." She spoke in a near whisper through her fingers. "I'm humiliated."

"Please don't be. It's totally fine." I tried.

"It's totally not fine." She said quietly. "Now you're never going to think well of me." I hoped she wasn't being serious.

"Ashley, I swear, I don't care at all."

"Ash, it's fine," Glen put a hand on her shoulder and she swatted it off angrily.

"No, it's not. So stop saying it is." She snapped. None of us made a peep, not wanting to be the next one to be snapped at. "What did I do?" She said, after a long silence.

"You just were getting sick and I helped you a little."

"And I made you stay with me?" She asked, looking afraid.

"You didn't make me, but you asked me and I didn't want you to be alone so I stayed. It's really not a big - "

"Stop saying that." She interrupted.

"Sorry." My eyes fell, and I felt awkward.

"Did… anything else happen?" She looked at me with begging eyes, as if she was afraid of something… something specific having happened.

"Like what?" I asked, honestly curious.

"I'm asking you." She insisted, her eyes flicking between me and her hands.

"Nope. You just got sick and then we got you clean and I took you home and we went to sleep in your bed."

"That's why…" She trailed off. A quiet epiphany dawned on her face, but her expression quickly sobered.

"That's why what?"

"Nothing."

"No, seriously."

"Seriously, nothing." She said with finality. I decided that I didn't want to cross her right now, but I made myself a vow to figure it out later. The others were still silent around us, as if waiting for her to let them speak. "Well, for whatever it's worth, I'm really embarrassed, for the third time. I hate that you met me that way."

"Well it's fine." I reassured. She averted her eyes ashamedly, and I could feel myself blushing too, though why I didn't know. We are all silent again, and I mentally groped for words.

"Well, this has been fun." Glen said, his fingers gripping Ashley's shoulder once again. This time she didn't swat.

"A pleasure." Ashley sighed, glancing quickly at me, and then back down to her fingers, which tapped against her jeans.

"So, Ash, wanna get out of here?" Glen asked, walking around the car.

"Glen, you got here like, an hour ago." Aiden piped up. I had almost forgotten that he was here, which was strange because he set the whole ordeal in motion.

"And…." There was a pause. With no response from Aiden, Glen looked down to me. "You can get out now."

I unclicked my seatbelt and was just about to leave the car when Ashley spoke up again.

"Actually, Glen, I think Spencer and I need to get to know one another a little better. Properly. I come get you in a little while." My head snapped around and met her eyes. They told me to stay. I looked back to Glen and shrugged my shoulders.

"Fine." He huffed, displeased. "You're going to make it up to me later though." He winked at her. She closed her eyes and plastered a closed-mouth smile onto her face.

"Bye girls." Aiden said, a similar smile on his face.

"See you guys."

Ashley was quiet. Her eyes were still closed but the smile had turned into a line, pressed thin. I longed to know what she was thinking.

"What are you thinking about?" I couldn't help asking.

"Just trying to come up with ways to redeem myself – Don't." She asserted, seeing me open my mouth to reassure her. She exhaled a long breath. "Where do you want to go?" I paused, thinking.

"Well given that I don't really even know where I am, I think that's a question better posed to you."

"I knew you'd say something like that." She smiled a little. My stomach fluttered a little. I smiled. I liked seeing her smile. "It's a good thing I'm decisive."

She threw the car in reverse and we were rolling off towards a destination unknown to me.

Minutes ticked by in silence. The late afternoon scenery streamed past us as the wind caused my hair to fly in a number of directions. I couldn't think of the last time I was driving with the top down. Life in the city was different – faster paced. Not in the literal sense of course, the speedometer needle climbed higher and higher, my adrenaline pumping more or less in proportion. I reveled in the trees that lined the street rather than busy pedestrians, the fact that I could see a clear sky, free of skyscrapers. Flat horizons lay on all sides. I felt like I could scream, like I could sing. I didn't know what it was about Ashley, but when I was in her presence I could go from somber to ecstatic in moments, and the opposite, – without her having to do a thing.

I looked at her, trying to suppress the stupid smile on my face. She glanced back at me and didn't even meet my eyes – her gaze drifted upward to the flying mess of yellow.

"Nice hair." She laughed. I laughed too. She looked back to the road, but I couldn't take my eyes away from her. She was smiling: her bronze cheeks dimpled, genuinely smiling. Her nose crinkled adorably, and the corners of her eyes pinched together.

"Nice face." I don't know what made me say those sincere words, but I loathed myself the moment they crossed my dumb, suddenly smile-less lips. My eyes grew wide and I heard a brief pause in her laughing.

She looked at me again and I quickly looked away, embarrassed even further that I was staring. After a moment she continued laughing, even harder. This time it was Ashley who wouldn't stop looking at me. When I peeked back at her she giggled, so I did too. Our giggles continued, eventually turning into full-blown laughs. She looked at me again, her eyes wild and expressive. They spoke of excitement, of questioning.

"Why are you laughing?" I struggled to compose the sentence.

"Why are you?" She retorted, also struggling to stifle the laugh.

"I don't know!" I nearly screamed. I knew she didn't either.

We continued our exchange of incomprehensibly hilarious glances, laughter filling the air, growing increasingly loud, becoming howls. She screamed like a hyena, while I became breathless, laughing so hard that I couldn't breathe, couldn't make a sound. Her eyes glistened with tears. 

Why were we laughing?

Neither of us knew, and that's what made it so magical. My hair continued to whip through the air, golden tendrils reaching blissfully into the air. I ran my hands through it then threw them out to my sides, imagining for a moment that we were flying. Something felt different here. Something felt different with her. I felt something swelling up inside: a euphoric wave, an intangible happiness, bubbling its way from my core, threatening to explode from me. I closed my eyes and leaned back: I felt _free._

There was no music but that of the wind in our ears, the resonating laughter that grew softer. The silence that would have felt claustrophobic before, that would have made me anxious was now liberating. I had never felt like this before.

I could feel my face fall when I felt the car slow beneath us. Wherever we were going, we were close. Don't get me wrong, I was excited for her to show me her world, but I didn't want this ride to end. I could tell she felt the same way: her face, though still smiling, relaxed into contentedness. I felt happy that at the very least, she felt better than when we left the site.

Soon we had pulled into a driveway, and I knew where we were. Split rail fencing lined either side of the unpaved gravel road, and behind these fences were horses, speckling the property in chestnuts, bays, and pintos. We were going to see Riddle. Seeing that I understood, she spoke

"I hadn't seen him yet today, so I figured we could pay him a visit." I nodded in reply.

We got out of the car and stepped into the barn, where numerous horses stuck their heads out of their stalls, nickering in welcome. We stopped at the last stall on the left, where a big black head hung.

"Riddle-Man!" She cooed, taking the underside of his jaw into her hands and pressing her forehead into his face. She planted a kiss on the white blaze between his eyes. I smiled – it was very cute, her affection for her horse. "Want to pet him?" She asked, turning to me. I hesitated, opening my mouth to speak, but gaping. Her eyes rolled playfully, "Why did I even ask?" She quickly seized my wrist, which tingled at her touch once again, and our eyes met briefly before she forcibly dragged my hand up and down Riddle's face. Eventually she let go, and I pet him on my own. "See, not so bad, eh?" I smiled bashfully, a little unsure of what I should say. "Now, want to ride him?"

"Ashley, no." I said firmly.

"We'll only make him walk, you wimp. We can ride together." I still hesitated. She jutted out her lower lip, pouting, and her hands clasped together before her chest. Her eyes bore into mine, pressuring me. "Please?" She had me at lip-jut.

She slipped what she called a 'halter' over his head and clipped a lead rope to the part under his chin, then led him out of his stall.

"Aren't you supposed to use saddles and bridles? With bits that go in their mouths?" I asked, a little nervous at the lack of control devices present.

"Yep." She said quietly. She led him outside beside the little 3-step block used for mounting.

"Well are you going to?"

"Nope." She smiled wryly at me. I rolled my eyes, trying not to let my face betray me, telling how nervous I really was.

She threw the lead rope over the base of his neck, stepped onto the block, and threw her leg over his dark back. She looked down at me expectantly, as if to say, 'well?'

"Ashley, I don't know if I can…"

"Nonsense." She wouldn't hear it. "You're getting on."

"But I've never ridden before, and - "

"Will you please just trust me?"

"You have an interrupting problem."

"Just trust me." She said finally, ignoring my valid criticism. She stuck her hand out to me. I stepped nervously onto the block. "Now do exactly what I did. Stick your right leg over his back and push yourself up. You can use me for support." I swallowed thickly. I lifted my right leg, closed my eyes, and pushed off forcefully with my left leg, grabbing for Ashley as soon as I had clamored on. "Guess what?" She spoke in a near whisper.

"What?"

"You did it." She smiled back at me, "You're on a horse." I smiled, secretly a little proud of myself. My sense of victory was short lived – Ashley's heels tapped Riddle's sides, and he took a large step forward. Feeling the animal move beneath me, my arms instinctively wrapped tightly around Ashley's stomach.

"Sorry" I said, removing my arms as soon as I felt stable.

"It's fine, you can keep them there if it makes you feel safe." She replied quietly, not looking back at me. I wished I could read her face right now.

"Okay." I sighed, rewrapping my arms. I did it partly because I truly did feel safer with a hold on her, but I won't lie, it felt good to be wrapped around her, to have our bodies pressed close together once more. There was something static between us, something that electromagnetically bound us to one another.

The tops of my thighs met the back of hers, and our hips swayed together as Riddle took each step. We walked back down the driveway and across the street, into a large field of yellow-green grass as tall as at least my waist. The tops of the tall grass tickled my Capri-clad legs where the skin was exposed.

We wound up a partially beaten path, the scenery passing us slowly, the sun growing lower on the horizon. It occurred to me suddenly that I hadn't known this girl for even 24 hours. I hadn't known her for a day, and here I was, tight against her body, wrapped securely in just the sounds of nature: the brushing of grass blades against one another, of Riddle's hooves patting the ground, of the gentle breeze rustling the leaves of surrounding trees. No speech, and I felt comfortable. Cozy even, as though I had known her for months at least. I couldn't fathom this feeling of instant friendship. I had never clicked with anyone like this. I barely knew anything about her, other than the facts that she hated mushrooms, couldn't swim, and a couple other random tidbits. Yet, I still felt like I wanted to be near her. I was ravenous for her presence.

"Okay now hold on, a little tighter – we're going up this hill and it's a little steep." I obliged without argument. I was happy to. If anything, I was fighting the urge to put my chin on her shoulder, or press my cheek against her back. I told myself that would be weird, and I refrained.

Riddle began the trudge up the hill, putting a little more effort into his steps. I looked behind and watched his strong black haunches pushing off of the ground, his coat glistening in the falling sun.

I wondered how big this hill was. It seemed we had been traveling upward for a long time. Just as the thought crossed my mind, however, I felt the ground begin to even out. Riddle's movement relaxed a little. The hilltop peaked, and from where I was I could now see a large tree that grew right from the middle. One sole tree, quite the picturesque scene I must say.

"Okay." Ashley breathed. Okay what? "Spencer, this is going to make you nervous, but you need to trust me."

"Ashley" I drawled out in a warning.

"Trust me."

"You keep telling me to trust you, Ashley, and I barely know you."

"You took care of me last night, let me take care of you now." She insisted.

"You're the one putting me in the middle of this!" I pleaded.

"You don't even know what I'm going to ask you to do." She finally said. I had to admit, she had a point. I looked at her expectantly, her face turning away from me and up towards the branches just out of arms reach above us. I paused, doing double takes between her and the branches before I spoke.

"No. Way." I stated.

"Are you scawed?" She teased, childishly making the 'r' sound a 'w' sound.

"Yes!" I was not ashamed.

"Okay baby, well get over it." I knew she didn't mean baby in the endearing way, but my breath caught anyway. I internally scolded myself for even regarding such a stupid notion.

"Please?" My pleas fell on deaf ears. Her thin fingers peeled my arms from her stomach and placed them down at my sides. Pushing off of Riddle's shoulder blades where they met his neck, she began to draw her feet up from his sides, putting them underneath her until she was positioned in a crouch. "No fucking way."

"Oh, okay. You dropped an F-bomb." She said with mock seriousness, "That changes everything" Drawing out the last word.

"Shut up." Ignoring me, she began to stand, letting go of the bit of Riddle's dark mane that she'd been holding. As soon as she could reach, she put her arms over a branch and began to push herself up, pushing one of her feet against the body of the tree. I was alone on a horse… who did not have proper head gear for control. Suddenly, the tree sounded like a magnificent idea. Ashley slid back, straddling the branch she was on, making room for me. Imitating her actions precisely, I drew my legs up on either side of Riddle and began to stand on his back. I planted my feet carefully, my knees wobbling due to the slight give of his back. Fearing that I might lose my balance, I ungracefully threw my arms out for the branch, thankfully taking it beneath my arms. Like Ashley did, I pushed off of the tree's body, and propelled myself onto the tree clumsily. I looked down at the black horse beneath me and smiled. Another success.

"Guess what?" Her breath tickled my ear. I started, almost forgetting that she was behind me.

"Christ, please do not scare me when I am suspended, somewhat precariously, many feet above the ground." I gasped.

"Okay," She ceded, "But guess what?"

"What?" I rolled my eyes, anticipating the answer.

"You did it." She flashed a big smile and threw two cheesy thumbs up. "You're in a tree." I couldn't help but smile back – it was definitely contagious with her. She leaned against the body of the tree and stuck one of her feet on the branch so that her leg bent casually while the other hung.

"Whoopee." I said nonchalantly, even though I was secretly kind of excited. Riddle stood quietly below us, having lowered his head to nibble on the grass. "Aren't you afraid he's going to run away?"

"Nah, Riddle never goes anywhere." She flipped her hand down, brushing off the question. "You're typically not supposed to leave a horse standing on his own, let alone in an open area, but Riddle is different. Aren't you, my boy?" She cooed down to him. Hearing his name he raised his head and looked up for a moment before resuming grazing.

"I've actually never climbed a tree before." I confessed after a moment of silence.

"What?" She exclaimed, sitting bolt upright.

"We don't have trees like this in the city." I said meekly.

"Oh, right. I forgot you were a sheltered city kid." I smiled abashedly. "Alright, get up." She said, climbing to her feet. She grabbed higher branches for support. I stared at her incredulously. "Get up!"

"When are you going to stop making me do things that scare me?" I whined.

"When you're dead." She said, deadpan. I scowled. "I'm kidding. But honestly, you should do something everyday that scares you. And since I probably won't see you everyday, this will hold you over for 2 days when I'm not with you."

It was strange, I realized I couldn't picture being here in South Carolina without Ashley. She'd been on my mind essentially since I'd arrived. I didn't like the idea of not being around her, but I kept my mouth shut, and uneasily stood up on the branch, tightly gripping the branches above me until I was sure my knuckles were turning white.

"We're going up." She said casually, as if this was something as easy as ascending stairs. She stuck her foot into a niche and pulled herself up onto a higher branch. She must have climbed at least 10 feet higher before she looked down to me, expectantly.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"You know, you're really a wimp." She smiled and shook her head.

"This is peer pressure!"

"Oh please, it's a tree for Christ's sake." She rolled her eyes. I grabbed the above branches cautiously, preparing to launch myself. "Although technically speaking, I am pressuring you to get high." She smiled smugly. I think she was trying not to laugh at her own joke.

"Funny." Sarcasm dripped generously from the word. Okay, here we go. I took a deep breath, put my foot into the niche, and propelled myself up. Each branch came more easily than the next, and soon I was climbing without trembling or feeling imminent death. When I reached Ashley's branch, she was nowhere to be found. I had been so focused on my epic climb that I hadn't been watching her. My heart raced as I scanned around the surrounding branches. Where was she? What if she fell? I looked to the ground where Riddle stood alone. Where the hell was she?

"Oh Spenceeeeerrrr." She sang. My head shot up to where she was, another 10 feet above. How freaking big was this tree? "You're not done yet."

"You know, you're making me hate you." She gasped and clutched at her heart in mock sadness, her finger tracing a tear down her cheek. I smiled and rolled my eyes, determined now to reach her. I climbed furiously, feeling like a monkey. I couldn't help but feel sad that I missed this during childhood. I would have loved this. When I arrived at her branch, Ashley had once again moved, but this time I could see her. This time, she was extended farther out, splayed on her stomach on a dip in a series of thinner branches. They made up somewhat of a seat. To get there, she had to crawl across one really narrow branch for something like a distance of 15 feet. It was only about 4 or 5 feet above where I was, but the climb was something I was not willing to do. I did not nearly trust my balance enough for that.

She sat up and patted the spot beside her.

"Just one more." She smiled. My face grew serious.

"No, Ashley."

"Spencer, come on." She laughed.

"I mean it. No."

"But you've come this far, it'd be stupid not - "

"No." I interjected firmly.

"Whose got the interrupting problem now?" She smiled, but I remained serious. I was not getting up there. I think she sensed my mortal fear, because I could see her shoulders droop, and she turned away from me, back to the clearing in the leaves in front of her. "You're missing the best view," She sighed.

"I'm pretty sure it's not good enough to be the last view I ever see." I felt bad, she did look put out, but I wasn't going to budge on this one. I was already higher above the ground than I cared to acknowledge. She shrugged, and turned back to me, not trying to hide her disappointment. She looked defeated.

"Fine. Your loss." She even sounded a little irritated.

"Can you just come sit down here with me?" I asked sweetly, "I'm feeling a little uneasy about this height." I added, hoping that the threat of danger would beckon her down. She nodded quickly and began the climb back across the dangerous limb. "Please be careful." I pleaded.

"I know what I'm doing, Spencer." She said curtly. She navigated it with finesse, not looking off balance once. She reminded me of those creatures in Avatar.

"Fine, fine." I said, raising my eyebrows and my hands, surrendering. I immediately wished I hadn't let go of my grip on the branch. I wobbled for a moment, but thankfully steadied, and no sooner Ashley's hand was on top of my own, and the heat wave coursed through my body once more. I slowly raised my gaze to meet hers, which stared intently into my own. Her eyes had perfectly captured the sunlight, soaking it up, holding it in to make them even more alluring. The deep brown was illuminated and showed off a more amber color, not much different than the reddish color of her glistening hair as the setting rays ricocheted from it, back into the sky.

I'm not sure if either of us realized it, but our faces were gravitating towards one another. Soon I could hear the uneven breaths coming softly from her mouth, slightly ajar. We didn't look away from one another.

"So what do you think?" She said suddenly, quickly backing away and clearing her throat.

"Of what?" I asked, still unable to tear my eyes away from her face.

"The view." She turned away from me and faced forward, gesturing towards the sky before us. I finally forced my eyes to avert.

The horizon had become a vibrant shade of pink magenta, gradually becoming purple and blue as you looked up. The sun beamed, already almost halfway below the distant silhouette of the land. I felt like I could see for miles: blankets of trees extended in every direction, occasionally thin road fell beneath their canopy, winding through the vastness below. A gentle breeze tickled my face, and I felt myself not breathing. This was truly beautiful. I let out a small gasp.

"I know." Ashley agreed, taking the gasp as my answer.

"It's breathtaking."

"Mmhmm." she nodded. A moment of silence followed. "If only we were up there, the view is just a little more - "

"Ashley," I exhaled. She looked at me curiously. "Don't ruin the moment." I closed my eyes and smiled.

Have you ever felt like there was a flavor associated with your memories? Not something that you could physically taste on your tongue, but something you could feel: something specific and distinct to each memory, that filled your chest with floods of nostalgia, or sadness, or happiness or anger depending on the emotions involved. Maybe there was color involved too. I could feel it now, the flavor. Bursts of bright orange lights, yellow and red, exploded colorfully in me. It wasn't even a memory yet, and I could feel it as if it were. Maybe it was because I missed every second as it passed. Time ticked away, and I missed Ashley even though she was sitting next to me. I missed what we were moments ago, because we were in a different place. I could feel us changing, and changing fast. I could feel _me _changing. I didn't know where we were headed, only that we were going somewhere. We sparked, and now it was about feeding the fire, letting the flames tickle and not scorch.

I didn't outwardly say it, but my earlier words couldn't have been more facetious. I knew that she couldn't ruin a moment if she tried.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey everyone! So I've got another chapter ready for you, but I just wanted to clarify a couple things that I've decided. Because I constantly feel like I'm scrambling to get these up, I think I might post a chapter every Sunday so that maybe I can get a little ahead and not have to keep you waiting. If I get a significant amount of chapters ahead maybe I'll start doing 2 a week Anyway, I enjoyed writing this chapter, so I hope you enjoy reading it!

Love always,

M

Chapter 4

"Thank you for the ride." I smiled at Ashley, her face cast in shadow by the street lamp in front of the house.

"Which one? On Riddle or in the porschey?"

"Both," I giggled at her nickname for the beautiful car. "And thanks for not letting me die on horseback today."

"Honestly, I was more worried about you getting down from the tree. I thought for sure you had hurt yourself." I internally winced, reflecting on my fall. Once on the lowest branch we had to drop to the ground – dropping back onto Riddle's back wouldn't have been safe. Being me, I had to stick my landing as ungracefully as possible, one leg landing without a bend in the knee, causing me to take many a clumsy step in each direction before falling on my ass. Good times.

"Oh please, I'm fine." That butt-cheek shouldn't be _too_ yellow. "Not everyone can be nimble on their toes like miss feline over here."

"A cat?" She asked incredulously, "of all animals, you compare me to a cat?"

"What's wrong with cats?"

"They're puny!" She stared at me as if I were truly insane for not sharing this view. "I want to be a lion."

"Okay, Simba." I jokingly rolled my eyes.

"Hey." She said seriously. "I am definitely a lion."

"I didn't say you weren't!"

"Mmhmm," She said with attitude, looking away from me. "So what does that make you?"

"I have to be an animal?"

"Duh." Once again, as if I should know this already. "I think you are…." Pensive pause, "a dung beetle." My mouth dropped open.

"Are you kidding?" I could feel myself scowling.

"What? You _don't_ look into the mirror and think dung beetle?" Wordlessly, I continued to gape. "Jeez… smelly _and _blind."

"With that, I leave you, Miss Davies." I said quickly. "I'd hate to stink up your glorious presence anymore than I already have."

"Oh don't be silly." She smiled. For a moment I thought she was about to redeem herself. "If not to be compared against you, I wouldn't look nearly as good!" She howled.

"Farewell, then." I unbuckled my seatbelt and stepped from the car.

"Wait, seriously."

"Yes?" I responded, turning around once the car door had shut behind me.

"What are you doing tomorrow?"

"I don't know," I thought for a moment, "probably doing some work at the site."

"Didn't you say you weren't required to do anything until next week?"

"Yeah."

"Well then why would you?" She asked, astonished.

"What else is there to do?"

"Plenty!" She confidently assured me. She shook her head and smiled condescendingly, and I bit my lip and rolled my eyes, upon which I realized I was rolling my eyes too much. "Tomorrow at 11 am. This car, right here. Be there, and be wearing a bikini." I nodded, smiling once again. "Good."

I turned and continued walking up the walkway to the house when I heard the engine rev and I knew the car must be moving. I was about to open the door when I heard the car again coming closer. I turned and saw her backing the car in front of my house once more. "Spencer, wait." She called again. "What are you doing tonight?"

"I don't know." I called from beneath the overhang. "Probably just going to bed early – why?"

"Well if things get a little loud over there, you're welcome to come over here." I didn't quite know what she meant, but I appreciated the offer. If I hadn't been so tired I would have accepted.

"Thanks" I replied.

"I was about to tell you where my room was, but I just remembered you already knew." It was dark outside, but I would have swore that I saw her flush a pinker shade, remembering, I suppose, the circumstances that led me there last night. I laughed in response, a little unsure of what else to say to that. "Okay, bye!" She finally called.

I watched her drive away this time, without reversing to make any more invitations. As the car sped down the blackening road, I wondered where she was going – she only lived next door after all. Regardless, when I was sure she had gone, I turned back towards the door, opened the door, turned the screen handle, and pushed inside.

"How was your evening?" I jumped so visibly that even I would have laughed at myself.

"Mother f…." I caught myself. "You need to stop scaring me." I told the dark haired boy at the kitchen counter.

"Hey, it's not intentional." He justified. "So how was your evening? Or your whole day I should say, I haven't really seen you since before your class."

"It was fine." I said quietly, nodding subtly while my eyes held to the floor.

"You're one of those, aren't you?" Aiden asked, and I met his gaze, questioning. "One of those who need answers pried from them."

"Maybe." I said, more just to fuel his theory than anything. I couldn't hide the little smile that had crept to my face. He laughed.

"Well whether you tell me or not, I'm sorry about today. About selling Ashley out. I just figured she'd remember, that's all." He looked genuine, and that was enough for me.

"Don't worry about it, you didn't know." I accepted the apology.

"Good, I was afraid you were going to be mad at me."

"No," I laughed, though my face was skeptical.

"Well I'm glad." He said quietly. There was a silence. "So are you and Ashley becoming better friends?"

"Yeah, I think so." I said, unable to fight the smile that had crept onto my face. I think I was blushing a little. "You seem to know her well." I hoped that would get some kind of answer out of him, to dispel the mystery that surrounded the two of them.

"Well we grew up together, so sure." He spoke. Not as in depth as I was hoping for.

"Were you two ever…" I didn't even want to finish the sentence, because for some reason I hated that idea.

"Uh, yeah." He seemed unsure if he should disclose this. "For a little while, a long time ago."

"Oh." I replied. I tried to hide my mixed feelings at this. Why did I dislike that so much?

"We're just friends now, though, if that." He said seriously, his blue eyes suddenly staring into mine. They held with a strange intensity… magnetic. They looked maybe… sad? "So what did you guys do today?" Aiden asked, breaking another long silence.

"We went to see her horse, and we went to a big tree." I said, suddenly noticing that I sounded like a 5 year old with my description of the evening.

"Oh, she must like you." He raised his eyebrows. "That's her place."

"What do you mean?"

"That's like… really her place. She doesn't normally take people there."

"Did you go there?" I asked quietly.

"Just once." Another long pause followed. I tried to read his face, which proved very difficult.

"Did something happen between you two?" I got right to the point.

"I… well, we…" He was interrupted.

Behind me I heard the door open forcefully, and something like an army stepped inside, tens of footsteps pounded against the floor, shaking the house. I could hear the laughter of many guys, I suppose happy to be done a day's work. I couldn't turn around though, I was looking too intently at Aiden, whose eyes flicked between them and me, somewhat apologetically.

"Well if it isn't my little sis and boy wonder." Spoke a familiar voice, as he draped an arm around my shoulder. "Not up to anything bad, I hope."

"No," Aiden chimed. "We were just talking."

"Well I hope it wasn't anything too depressing, because we're getting drunk tonight!" He drawled out the last two words, eliciting a burst of cheers from the crowd behind him.

"You were drunk last night." I said very matter-of-factly.

"Yes… and?"

"Is this what you've been doing every night for the last two weeks?"

"And the last 2 summers? Yes." He replied proudly. "With the exception of Sundays. That's God's day." I laughed, how paradoxical. "Want a beer?" He thrust his other hand before me, holding a can of Natural Light.

"Thanks, but no thanks." I replied. I wasn't in the mood to drink tonight.

"Suit yourself." He looked to Aiden now. "Aiden, my man, take this." He put the can in his hand. "Have some fun, you look like a sexually repressed clergyman right now." I giggled, and I would have sworn that Aiden flushed a tiny bit of pink.

"I'm going upstairs." I said definitively. "Turning in early, I think." I turned from Glen to Aiden, who met my eyes and nodded. I turned from the two of them and trudged up to my room at the top. Once there, I locked the door and immediately peeled my clothes away.

When I stepped out of the shower and wrung some of the water from my hair, I realized what Ashley meant. It was _loud_. The bass boomed through the floorboards all the way up to the attic, and I could clearly hear the roaring laughter below. I heard shouts of victory and shouts of disappointment, which I guess were related to a beer pong game that was quickly escalating. This was not a house for a girl to live in. I put on a pair of shorts, and a sweatshirt though I had no shirt underneath, as the breeze coming from my window was a little chilly.

I grabbed my book, went to my bed and peeled back the covers, realizing that this would be my first time in my own bed. Just as my head hit the pillow, my phone buzzed.

'Are you having fun in SC?' it was a text from one of my best friends, Nora.

'Yep! Met some fun new people. How's home?' I typed in reply. It was funny, even though I had met a bunch of people already, some of whom I quite liked, such as Aiden and Tom, one face stood out above the rest. Once again, I felt myself smile at the thought of her. I couldn't help but feel excited that I had clicked so well with someone so fast.

'It's good. Boring without you. Who knew the city could be boring? Ps when can I come visit you?'

'Haha it's only been a day, Nora. But visit me anytime you want!' I couldn't quite picture Nora here, but it would certainly be nice for her to come.

'Yay! I'll start planning' She responded less than a minute later. I smiled and put my phone down, opening my book.

Soon I realized that my efforts to read were laughable. My eyes scanned the pages, regarding each letter of each word, but none of it registered. It may as well have been hieroglyphics. I lay down on the bed, knowing I couldn't sleep. I mean, it _was_ only about 8:30. I had just thought I'd get some reading done, but it proved far too busy here: busy in the house, and busy in my mind. The noise was distracting, but so was the face that made her reappearance in my mind every couple of minutes. She did invite me over, I thought.

As soon as the thought crossed my mind I was out from beneath the sheets, sliding flip-flops over my feet. I raced down the steps, going as fast as I could without risking missing a step and potentially ending my life in a blonde avalanche. I had just about reached the front door when a voice bellowed from behind me.

"Spencer!" Oh god. A pair of arms fastened around the front of my neck, hugging my awkwardly. He pressed his cheek into my back.

"Hi Emory." I exhaled, rolling my eyes.

"You remembered my name?" He asked, removing his hands from my neck. As I turned to face him, he threw a hand to his heart, jutted his lip out, and closed his eyes. "I'm touched." In his drunken state, I was sure that he was.

"Of course I remember you." I said, smiling a little.

"Emory, I think they need you in there." I heard Aiden say, coming from behind me.

"Okay." Emory agreed, then looked back to me. "By the way Spencer," he paused, holding a finger in the air. "You smell just lovely." His words were slurred, but I took the compliment and smiled all the same.

"Bye, Emory."

"Bye, Spencer. Don't forget me!"

"I won't." I laughed. I turned around to face Aiden.

"Going somewhere?" He asked. He was smiling but his eyes looked sad. I was beginning to think maybe sad was their natural setting. Or maybe I was just crazy.

"To Ashley's."

"Be careful, Spencer." He cautioned. He looked genuine, but I couldn't understand him, and I had to make a specific effort not to be frustrated at him. He was so vague, and then he doled out warnings as if I should know what I was up against. I knew… or really, I hoped… that it was just because he was looking out for me.

"Aiden, I don't know what you're talking about, but I assure you I can take care of myself." I snapped a little bit, despite my efforts not to. Before he could answer me I was out the door and jogging down the walkway, goose bumps rising on my legs.

When I arrived at the front door of her house, not 20 seconds later, I laughed. Suspended by scotch tape, a piece of loose-leaf paper hung from the glass door, on which was written 'Party next door' With an arrow pointing in the direction of my house. It's official: I was in the party house.

I looked inside and all of the lights were off, except for Ashley's room, whose window glowed at the front of the house. Without knocking, I let myself in. She made a point of telling me that I knew where her room was, so I assumed it was okay.

I found my way to the stairs in the dark and climbed up, following the light. As I expected, the second door on the second floor was silhouetted by the golden light coming through the cracks. I stepped up to the door and knocked lightly. No response. I knocked a little harder, still to which no response came.

"Ashley?" I finally asked quietly.

"Hello." A whisper from behind me elicited a real shriek. The scream burst through my lips and echoed in the dark and empty house, while I reeled to face the catalyst. On the floor, laughing so hard that she wasn't making a sound, was Ashley, clutching her stomach while rolling on her back from side to side. She looked like a child. I would have found it adorable if I could feel my face.

"Why do people love scaring me?" I yelled exasperatedly, despite the smile making its way onto my face. I tried to suppress it. I brought a hand up and covered the side of my face while I caught my breath.

"I'm sorry" She struggled to breathe out. "That was just too good."

"Ass."

"Wimp."

I opened my mouth to continue the name calling, but I had nothing. "That's what I thought." She continued. "So, how long have you been waiting here outside my door?" It's a good think it was dark because I blushed very hard. I hoped she didn't think I was creepy.

"I – I – I literally just got here, I came up and was knocking and - "

"Spencer, calm down." She smiled. "I know. I saw you come in an I crept up really quietly to scare you." I gaped at her, my jaw hanging wide open, my eyes staring under furrowed eyebrows. "You know, your face might stick that way." I immediately shut my mouth.

"You're mean, do you know that?"

"Yep." She smiled proudly, and pushed the door to her room open. I looked around, taking in the room once more. This was the first time she was conscious of me being in it with her.

"So where'd you go tonight, anyway?"

"Oh, just to meet some guy to get some stuff." She said, not looking up at me. She threw her bag down on the bed and began going through it.

"That's not shady or anything." I chided.

"Oh, it was very shady." She raised her eyebrows. Suddenly she looked up at me, an idea in her eyes.

"What?"

"I've got an idea." I waited for her to continue. "Scale of 1 to 10… How against illegal intoxicants are you?" I swallowed, admiring her word choice, but also praying that she didn't have heroin, or meth in that bag of hers.

"Depends on the drug, really."

"Mary Jane."

"What?"

"Marijuana." She rolled her eyes.

"I've tried it once before, didn't really do anything for me." I shrugged my shoulders.

"Well you're trying it again tonight." She said happily.

"I just said it didn't do anything for me."

"It never affects people the first time, silly."

"Oh. I didn't know that." I replied.

"Obviously." Her face suddenly lit up as she rifled through the bag. I assumed she found what she was looking for. She pulled out a plastic bag, inside of which there was a little zip-lock bag, inside of which there were two blunts. "Here you go." She said, placing one of them into my palm.

"Ashley, I don't know if I should…" She took one of her hands and placed it on my shoulder, which began to tingle.

"Spencer, it will be fine."

"Now you're _really_ peer pressuring me!" I exclaimed, reflecting on her earlier forcing me to climb that tree.

"What are peers for?" She winked, which caused my insides to twist a little. "Besides, you've tried it before. It must not be against your moral code." She had a point. Taking the plastic bag, Ashley climbed up onto her bed and stood up, reaching for the ceiling. It suddenly occurred to me what she was doing.

"Ashley, in here?" I whispered, despite the fact that there was no one around.

"Calm down, princess, I'm putting the bag over the smoke detector. We'll be fine, I promise." She climbed down once she had fastened it tightly. "I'll even open a window for you." She walked to the window and when bent down to unlock it, her shirt crept up ever so slightly, revealing a small tattoo on her tanned lower back. I had never been much for tattoos, but I had to say, it looked good on her. I tried not to think it but, truly, I liked my view.

She came back over to me, lighter and her own blunt in hand. She lit hers first, and took a first hit. She held it in for a minute, closing her eyes, and then gently allowed the thick stream of blue-gray smoke to cross her lips. The cloud dispersed as it rose, giving the air around us a smoky haze. She looked at me through the smoke with heavy lids, and offered me a smile that I couldn't quite decipher.

All I could think of was how beautiful she looked.

Ashley then handed me the lighter, which I nervously fumbled with, unable to summon the little flame. She laughed and pried the lighter from my busy fingers. I was embarrassed that I couldn't even use a lighter. It was as if she heard my thoughts.

"It's cute." She reassured. She took my blunt from my hand and placed the end in my mouth, my arms now hanging limp at my sides. She began to light the end, while her thumb and index finger of the other hand gently gripped the end in my mouth. Her fingers were less than half an inch from my lips. One slight twitch and we would make contact. "Okay, breathe in." She instructed, her voice as soft as velvet. She looked from my eyes to the end of the blunt and smiled, letting go – I suppose satisfied with the way it lit. I took my hands from my sides and held the blunt away from my mouth. I tried to emulate her, holding in the smoke, but after about a second a thunderous cough escaped me, sending a thin grey cloud into our midst, and starting a chain of coughs that had my body convulsing violently.

"Are you okay?" She asked, her face growing serious. I made an attempt to smile through the hacks and nodded. She nodded in return, taking another hit from hers. She held it for about 10 seconds this time – I couldn't understand how she did it – before letting it out again. This time she pursed her mouth in an 'O' shape, and gently pushed smoke from her mouth with her tongue, causing the smoke to come out in a series of thick rings that diffused gently as they rose. Shemust smoke regularly.

"Show off." I said, as soon as I could utter words.

"It comes with practice." She smiled, gently taking the back of my hand with the blunt and raising it to my mouth once more. Her fingertips were cold, but they ignited my hand all the same.

I took another hit, and this time I had more success: the smoke fumed messily from my open mouth, causing the shroud between us to thicken.

We continued this way in silence for some minutes, and before mine did, Ashley's blunt had finished. She dabbed it in an ash tray that she took from one of her drawers before walking back to me as I took another hit. When she arrived before me once again, she stood closer than she had before – our bodies no more than a foot apart. I could feel the heat emanating from her as her deep brown eyes stared intensely into mine. My breath caught, which proved to be a little weird with a blunt in your mouth.

Ashley's slender hand reached up slowly, and gently brushed my blonde hair behind my ear The very tips of her fingers gently traced my cheek before her fingers settled on the blunt. My hand fell away as she took it from my mouth at what should have been mid-hit. It wasn't a big deal because I wasn't breathing anyway. I couldn't – not with the way she was looking at me. She placed the blunt to her lips, took a quick hit, then placed it back between mine. The way she smiled, I wish I could properly explain it. She backed away and sat down on the bed, not once taking her eyes from me. I had never so enjoyed being beneath a friend's gaze before, having her smile at me. It was intoxicating. My head was light, but heavy at the same time. My body felt like it was numbing. I felt relaxed in a way I never had before. I suppose I could have attributed that to the drugs that were quickly making their attack on my unsuspecting brain, but I still felt it was more due to the girl before me. In that moment, I was thankful for Glen having left her drunk last night. For without that vital step, I wasn't sure we would have met or hit it off the way we did.

With that thought, I took my last hit and dabbed it in the ash tray as I'd seen Ashley do, and moved to sit on the bed with her.

"Do you feel it?" She whispered.

"Feel what?" I asked, wondering if she felt what I did, the happiness.., no, absolute bliss, at having found someone, having found a friend that you bond with so naturally, without any effort.

"Mary Jane." She began to giggle. I was a little disappointed that she didn't mean what I hoped that she meant, but I agreed nonetheless, really just happy to be sitting here with her.

"Yeah, I think so."

In the coming minutes it became obvious that I did, in fact, feel Mary Jane. Soon we found ourselves laughing breathlessly over nothing, sprawled out on the bed, losing track of what we were talking about mid-conversation, at which point our laughter would spike once more. If I would say something that she found mind-numbingly hilarious, she would gently push my shoulder with her hand, and I readily accepted the contact. My body felt increasingly light, and soon I felt like I had to tell her.

"Ashley, I think I might be as light as a feather." She giggled.

"Me too."

"I think this bed… oh my god… I think this bed might be a cloud!" I exclaimed excitedly, as if I had just discovered electricity.

"Oh my god it is!" She cried.

"We're flying, Ashley! We're so high up!" I said, crawling to the edge of the bed and imagining quite easily that the floor, just feet below, was actually miles below.

"We're so high in general!" She erupted in another peal of laughter.

"I know." I sighed, smiling. "I love our cloud."

"Me too." She scooted close to me. "And my angel" She said quickly, pressing a kiss against my cheek and then scrambling to the top of the bed. I gazed at her, raising a hand to and feeling the hot place where her lips had just touched my skin. A little voice in my head told me not to move, not to act, but that little voice was overpowered by the elation I felt. I had to return it, the kiss. I crawled up to her and kissed the bridge of her nose, which crinkled beneath my touch as she closed her eyes and smiled. We sat there, awestruck, looking at one another for I don't even know how long.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed aggressively. My face must have been quite the sight when I saw the caller ID: Mom. My mouth dropped open and the noiseless laughter began once again.

"It's my mom!" I whispered, between laughs.

"Answer it!" Ashley exclaimed, grabbing a pillow and hugging it to her chest before drawing up her knees.

"Hello?" I said a little too loudly.

"Spencer, why haven't you called?" Scolded the familiar voice.

"I'm sorry, Mom," I paused, trying to contain myself as Ashley screamed laughing into her pillow. "I've been really biz-bee… busy" I corrected. I thought Ashley might explode if she laughed any harder.

"You didn't even call me when you landed, Spencer. You realize I worry about you, right?" I appreciated her concern, but I couldn't really wrap my head around it right now.

"Yes, Mom, I'm really really sorry."

"You're lucky I learned you were alright from Glen, otherwise you'd be in deep doo-doo." Ashley must have heard doo-doo through the phone because began convulsing. She reached for my free hand and gripped it tightly.

"Lucky… yeah, I'm really lucky" I mumbled, not really thinking.

"Is everything okay, Spence? You sound weird." Uh oh.

"Yep! Just fine!" My voice went way too high. "You know what mom, I was actually just about to go get something to eat, so could I call you tomorrow?" Ashley's laughter suddenly and completely ceased. Her head bolted up and she nodded at me very seriously upon hearing the word 'eat.'

"Yes, that's fine. But please call me, I want to hear all about your trip so far, and I don't know how much longer I can wait."

"I'll call you tomorrow, Mom. Now I've got to get back to my cloud. Bye!" I hung up quickly, not even realizing what I had just said. Ashley, momentarily silent, was sent into laughter once again, and I followed suit.

"Food. Food." Ashley said, forcing herself to be serious again. "Let's get food."

"Yes." I agreed, noting that I had never wanted to eat something more than I did right now.

We made our way down as quickly as we could, both of us besides one another on the narrow staircase. It didn't take me long to acquaint myself with the kitchen, going through the refrigerator, and surrounding cabinets to forage for food.

"I found something!" Ashley yelled triumphantly. "TWINKIES." I hurried over to where she was and waited impatiently for her to remove the wrappings. I must have already had my mouth open because as soon as they were unwrapped, Ashley shoved a whole one into my mouth, poking it all the way in with her fingers. I didn't mind, because I was hungry, and she laughed. I thought at that moment that I would do almost anything to hear her laugh. She put the other one into her mouth whole as well and then looked at me. We must have been quite a picture, staring at one another with our cheeks noticeably puffed out.

I resumed the hunt for food, and was fairly disappointed with the lack thereof.

"The guys eat everything." She said disappointedly, sitting on the floor with her elbows on her knees. She let her head sink between her arms.

"Don't be sad. We'll…." I thought for a moment. "We'll order a pizza!" Her face shot up, beaming a brilliant white smile. She nodded dramatically, dialing a number in her phone.

"Hello Dominos," I heard her sing, "I would like to place an order for delivery, and I'd like to ask that you make it happen as fast as you possibly can." I giggled. "I would like one large plain pizza, and a side order of cinna-sticks." Upon hearing cinna-sticks, I couldn't help but salivate. "How many minutes was that?" Once she had heard, she mouthed 'fifteen' to me. "Okay, thank you, see you soon!"

We went and sat down at the kitchen counter, waiting for the dominos. We just looked at one another for a minute or two, not saying a word. Soon, however, we fell into conversation about the pizza, and how excited we were for it. We talked of food preferences, what kinds sounded perfect right now. We recapped the conversation with my mom and laughed.

"Your brother has been texting me all night." She finally said.

"Oh has he?"

"He has."

"And what has my brother been saying?" I smiled stupidly.

"That he wants me to go next door." My heart sank. I should have known that was coming, but I liked having Ashley here to myself. The thought of sharing her attention bothered me, and I knew it would bother me if I had been sober too.

"Oh." I tried to hide the disappointment. "Well we can if you want to."

"It's okay, I don't want to." She smiled.

"Why not?"

"Because I'm here with you." She smiled even wider, to the point where she had to close her eyes and crinkle her nose the way I loved so much. I knew I was blushing, but I wasn't coherent enough to care, or to try and hide.

"You never did tell me what you really like about my brother." I added after a little silence. I guess I must have killed the mood, because her features relaxed from their happiness.

"I did answer… I don't really know. He's just there."

"Well that doesn't sound like a good reason to be in a relationship" The little voice came back and told me to stop talking – this really wasn't my business. For the record, I think that little voice was sobriety. I'm pretty sure I'm not schizophrenic.

"When you've been in as many as I have, you don't need a good reason." She didn't look sad when she said this, but somehow I detected a trace of sadness at this.

"Well sure you do. Relationships are important, and you should really care about the person you're with." I didn't know what I was saying. Was I trying to convince her not to be with my brother? What kind of sister did that make me?

The reality of their situation suddenly occurred to me. She was my brother's girlfriend. This girl, who I was growing frighteningly close to after one day, was his. Glen, the guy who takes them, uses them, and tosses them aside. But usually he never called them girlfriends. Was Ashley different? Did she mean something to him? It occurred to me what kind of limitations this would put on our friendship. If they were in fights, would she not be able to come over? Or vice versa? If they had a nasty break up, would I have to distance myself from her out of loyalty? Would she not be able to talk to me when she was having relationship problems because I was his sister? I knew that I was thinking ahead here – I had only known her for a day – but somehow I knew this wasn't a fluke. Somehow I knew that whatever one might call Ashley and me… it was real.

Then the most painful thought of all burst through my mind. Would I always come second to him?

"Have you been in a relationship?" She asked me quietly.

"No." I said, snapping out of my trance. "Nothing too serious. Just boyfriends here and there."

"Always boyfriends?"

"Yes…" I dragged out the word, confused. "As opposed to girlfriends?" She just looked at me. "No, never any of those." She nodded. I wanted so badly to know what she was thinking.

"Have you ever had a girlfriend?"

She opened her mouth and lingered for a moment before we heard a rapping against the door.

"Pizza!" She exclaimed, genuinely having forgotten our conversation. I tried not to let it get to me, but I couldn't help but feel a little down that this conversation didn't mean as much to her as it did to me. I knew I was high, but this was still important. I couldn't move from the counter quite yet because I wanted to file away everything we had just said… Ensure that I'd remember it later when I was in my right mind.

By the time I had risen Ashley had thrown a $20 at the delivery boy, not really seeming to care what the actual cost was. It must have been more than enough because he took it gladly and left.

Ashley set the box on the counter, opened it, and brought a slice to her mouth as fast as her hands could possibly go. She closed her eyes as she bit into it, savoring.

"Spencer, it's amazing." She said, her mouth full. I had to laugh, and then she began to laugh at herself. I grabbed a slice for myself, and from the first bite I was ecstatic.

"I've never been so happy to eat in my life."

"That's what Mary Jane does to you." She giggled.

"Well I like Mary Jane." I said, smiling as I shoveled more pizza into my mouth.

We spent the next half hour consuming the entire pizza: cheese, crust, and all, finishing with the soft and warm cinna-sticks, dipped generously in icing. I wanted to eat the cardboard boxes. I didn't feel full, but I decided that I should probably stop if I didn't want to be sick. I finally trusted that little voice of sobriety.

When we had finished we sat in another thick silence, just staring at one another.

"It's so weird that we didn't really know each other before today." Ashley said quietly.

"I know, I've been thinking the same thing."

"I feel like you're a good friend."

"Me too." There was another pause.

"Spencer?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you stay over tonight?" I was about to speak when she continued, "again?"

"Yeah." I said, not really having to think it over.

"I have your clothes. Oh, but I haven't washed them yet. I understand if you want to borrow clean ones."

"No, it's fine." I smiled at her, and she smiled back. "I know you were clean when I put you in them." She blushed.

"Want to go back upstairs?"

"Sure."

We walked back upstairs and Ashley quickly found the Beatles shirt and shorts I'd lent her last night and tossed them over to me. I quickly undressed, not caring whether she was looking or not, and I slid the shirt on, deciding against wearing shorts. Her eyes went wide when she saw me in my underwear.

"Pant-less-ness… I like it. Way to be." She approved. I could barely listen – I was too distracted by her smell that emanated from the shirt. It was a wonderful smell: something that reminded me of vanilla and coconut, while still being distinctly unique. I was glad to be wearing the source of it, going to sleep beside the source of that.

We slid under the covers, me on the side with the door once again, though this time I wouldn't have to leave so quickly. I knew she'd remember me tomorrow, and this thought made me warm. It cradled me, and I knew I couldn't suppress my smile.

We both settled in comfortably on our cloud, and I could still feel my head spinning, but it wasn't bad, like when you went to bed too drunk.

"Spencer?"

"Yeah?" I yawned.

"Thank you for taking care of me last night."

"You're welcome. I mean it."

"I know." She said quietly.

It occurred to me that we were sleeping together both of the only nights we'd known one another. I didn't quite know what to do with this thought other than to smile. I had been smiling a lot the last day.

"Spencer?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I sleep a little closer to you?" I smiled, thinking of how, unknown to her, she asked me the same thing last night.

"Sure." I answered, remarking on how much more comfortable I was. How much I genuinely wanted her near me, wanted her vanilla coconut smell to envelop me as I drifted to sleep

Like last night she moved closer, but she wasn't drunk this time, and therefore didn't have the same inhibitions. She moved close so that we were touching, but she didn't wrap her arm around me, didn't press her cheek against me.

I reached for her hand and took it around my front, lacing my fingers through her own. I felt her respond to this, pressing herself against me a little tighter, finally coming to rest her head on me. I don't know if it was Mary Jane talking, but I didn't think I wanted to sleep any other way again. Rather than question my feelings, I let myself sink into her, melting our bodies together into one mass beneath the sheets. My entire body was on fire, but it was pleasant warmth. A soothing tingling. I didn't want to jerk away from it, and I wasn't surprised when we became a paradox: igniting and quelling our senses at the very same time. Tonight, I was going to let us just be. I left the wondering until tomorrow.

"Spencer?" She whispered, her breath tickling my ear.

"Yeah?"

"I lied earlier. You're a white tiger." I smiled.

"Why?"

"Because you're rare to find, you possess a secret strength, and to anyone who sees you, you are beautiful." I blinked back tears as I prepared to say my next and last words before sinking into a peaceful sleep.

"Okay, Simba."


End file.
